When a fishing boat leaves the harbor, it’s guided by buoys that mark the channel. These are a huge help in keeping the vessel from running aground. But the boats can’t tie up to those buoys and get to their destination. They have to keep going out into the ocean depths in order to catch fish.
Similarly, we have helpful landmarks of God’s care for us as we explore our way out into the depths of Spirit. It is natural for us to have satisfying employment, loving companionship, and a comfortable place to call home. But none of these evidences of good in our lives are our actual goals. They can be helpful guideposts, but if we anchor to them, we are limiting our acceptance and experience of the spiritual good they represent.
Interestingly, the more we let go of attributing the goodness we have to the forms it takes in our experience, the more securely and abundantly we see good expressed in our lives. By seeing that its real origin is in God, we become aware that the source of good is infinite and its substance is wholly spiritual. Then we never lose anything real, but instead lose the limited sense of it. It’s kind of like trading in a beautiful photograph of the ocean for the ocean itself.
